Ospreys facing Sunday soccer challenge

The Ospreys will swap the oval ball for a round one on Sunday afternoon when they send a team to the Craig Powell Memorial Six-A-Side Tournament at Risca United AFC.

 

The event has been organised in memory of Craig Powell, a former Risca player who’s sudden death two years ago at the age of just 22 was caused by a condition known as myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, the cause of which is quite often unknown.

A side containing the likes of Shane Williams, Dan Biggar and Adam Jones will face the winners of the tournament, which will be played out between more than 30 teams.

The event is taking place at Risca’s Ty-Isaf Park, and among the teams competing in the competition is a side composing a number of ex-Welsh international footballers, along with a Cardiff City veteran’s side. There will also be a team representing Cuddy Group, who Craig’s father Mark, a former Risca player and reserve team manager, is employed by.

Funds raised on the day are going to the CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) charity, a UK wide organisation aiming to raise awareness of cardiac risk and the phenomenon of sudden death syndrome, as well as promoting the screening of young people and providing support to families who have lost a loved one because of the problem.

Guest of honour at the day is Terry Yorath, former captain and manager of the Wales soccer team, who has been personally affected by the issue through the death of his son Daniel at the age of 15 in 1992.

The competing teams will play for the trophy, with the winning side then taking on the Ospreys at approximately 5.30pm. In addition to the squad involved in the game, the Ospreys will also be represented at the event by a number of other players including Newport born Ryan Jones.

Speaking ahead of the event, Shane Williams said:

“We are honoured to be able to play a small part in this event and help to honour Craig at the tournament. As a father myself, the thought of losing a child at a young age is a horrific one, as I’m sure any parent would agree, which is why we all want to do something to help raise awareness of this issue and to help raise funds for CRY in Craig’s memory.”

Ospreys Managing Director, Mike Cuddy, added:

“Given the links that I have to the Powell family, I’m pleased that the Ospreys are able to support this event by sending a team along to play against the winners on Sunday. It’s scheduled to be a normal day of training with our first game on Tuesday night, so the boys will travel up to Risca when they finish to play, otherwise they would have competed in the competition itself. With some of their team-mates travelling to support them, hopefully the presence of the Ospreys will help to raise the profile of the event and raise some money for the cause.”

The Ospreys squad has been confirmed as:

Rhys Webb?

Gareth Owen?       

Dan Biggar?       

Eli Walker?       

Steve Tandy?       

Shane Williams?       

Adam Jones?       

Paul James

Admission to the event is just £2 for adults, £1 U16’s, and the action gets underway at 1pm.